Pig and poultry farmers will soon be able to demonstrate compliance with new permitting rules, using two new, simple calculators, free of charge.
The calculators have been developed by feed advisers, Mick Hazzledine and Dr Mark Malpass, following recommendations from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).
Testing indicates that current levels of feeding and performance should enable farmers to comply with the nutrient excreta levels required under environmental permitting and these new calculators will help farmers determine the levels of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) being excreted by animals on their farms.
Emma Slater, environment and buildings KT manager, said: “For individual farmers, the rule changes and reporting requirements appear daunting. Therefore, we sought a straightforward solution that is easy to use and provides consistency and confidence.
“We are very grateful to the Agricultural Industries Confederation and to Mick and Mark for developing these tools, and to the feed companies and advisers who were involved with the testing. The result is these two calculators which, with help from feed suppliers, will mean reporting, in most cases, will be straightforward.”
Indoor pig keepers with more than 2,000 finishing pig places (above 30 kg) or 750 sow places (including served gilts); and poultry keepers with more than 40,000 poultry places at a site, are required to obtain a permit from the Environment Agency (EA). These permitted sites must adopt minimum standards of management practice and Best Available Techniques for their production processes to minimise emissions.
The calculators will simplify the completion of the associated paperwork and are now ready for trial, to access them, email: Pork.Environment@ahdb.org.uk.
